Pointing out that elections are as far as 18 months away, Cunliffe said Labour had plenty of time to make up the lost ground and would do so.

They’re saying the same thing now, and only 77 days to go.

Cunliffe said there was last year debate within Labour regarding how to respond to the then-National Party leader, the intellectually respected but politically awkward Don Brash. Many in the Labour caucus, Cunliffe said, believed that Brash’s clumsiness was a gift to Labour, and that Labour should do all it could to ensure Brash remained leader of the opposition. Most Labour MPs, however, argued that Key would certainly unseat Brash before the next election. If it was inevitable that Key rather than Brash would lead National into the next election, the argument went, it was in Labour’s interest to have Key in the opposition leader’s seat as soon as possible so that the friction of politics could rub away some of his glow. Better to run against Key when he’s been opposition leader for 18 months rather than only 4-6 months. Therefore Labour kept the heat on Brash, doing whatever they could to speed his downfall.

That strategy worked well!

While emphasizing that New Zealand Muslims are loyal to their adopted country and inclined to leave the conflicts of their homelands behind them, Cunliffe expressed some concern that more radical imams are trying to enter the country and stir up trouble. Asked what tools he had to exclude those who have committed no crimes but still might be considered a threat, Cunliffe turned coy. “Some people simply find their visas don’t get renewed,” he said.

Excellent judgement.

Cunliffe is a former diplomat and is widely touted as one of Labour’s future leaders.

That was right.

Asked why he left the diplomatic service, he said he was more tempermentally suited to politics than to diplomacy. Another reason he cited for leaving was so that his spouse, whom he described as the family’s breadwinner, could return to her law practice. Cunliffe, who spent six years studying and working in the U.S., comes across as genuinely pro-American.

Don’t tell The Standard and The Daily Blog!

While a student, he worked on Senator Kennedy’s re-election campaign against Governor Romney. Cunliffe has a mixed reputation among his colleagues, some of whom have complained to Emboffs that he is arrogant and (ironically) undiplomatic.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2014 at 4:00 pm and is filed under NZ Politics.
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So. About internet-mana saying they’ll get rid of coat tailing but being happy to use it or those greenies that drive around in petrol driven vehicles or fly long distance on jets while saying we shouldn’t use oil.

I’m all for less secrecy, but that is not the same as no secrecy. And in terms of who decides what remains secret – I prefer those I elect to Parliament to do so, rather than Julian Assange who is accountable to no one at all.

ashishnaicker, I am not sure what you mean – is it the wikileaks publication, or David’s use of it, that is “within the legal limits”? I do not suggest that DPF himself is breaking any law, but wikileaks publishes material which was written without the intention that it be published and which would have been written differently if the author had known it was to be published. This can do real harm, including for example by damaging the careers of the individuals involved, making people less willing to share information and set out opinions freely and frankly in future, and providing help to those who want to damage national interests.

As m@tt points out, David himself has commented to that effect in the past, which is why I was surprised to see him drawing on wikileaks in this instance.

Why dont you pay the amount you OWE to the Auckland Council?
How can you be so dishonest?
How can you steal from others who are paying their way?
Why do you continue to pay for the internet when you could put that money into paying what you owe?

I will wait for you to pay for what you OWE,then I will read all your posts in full from that point on.
Dishonesty is a trait either you have or you dont,I know where you sit,Penny.

He sang like a canary to a foreign Diplomat, no doubt fueled by a good lunch with ample alcohol. He is never this open with the NZ public nor I suspect his colleagues. He always tries to be canny saying different things to different audiences. He is a very insincere man.

Penny forgets that she herself could be a 1%er. Compare the money she bludges to the wages of the extreme poor throughout the world. Compare the access she has to property, fresh water, freedom to screech, food and she suddenly is in the top percentile.